5 BIG Anti Spam & Virus Freebees
by BIG Mike McDaniel
Published on this site: March 10th, 2004
There are many ways to protect the valuable information on your
computer from invaders and heartless spammers. Most of them cost
money and require more money on a regular basis for updates. Many
of them are quite good and worth every penny.
Here are 5 ways you can add to your protection at no cost. With
ther addition of a freebee you can double or triple your protection.
These are not demo programs, untested or free-for- a-limited time,
but unlimited forever free real working applications.
There are options to purchase with each free tool, however, you
can use them all for an unlimited time in their free mode.
NOTE: BIG Mike has no financial interest in, or incentive
program with, any of the vendors whose tools and programs are offered
here. They are presented in the spirit of better, more effieicent
eMail.
Freebee #1 MAILWASHER
MailWasher is a program that wil let you inspect the FROM address
and the SUBJECT LINE of every eMail waiting for you, BEFORE it is
loaded into your computer. If you choose to "Bounce" any
message,it is returned to the sender as a "hard Bounce",
computer talk for "This address does not work". The hard
bounce increases the possibility your name will be removed from
that spammer's list because most have equipment that automatically
removes "Hard Bounced" addresses. You can also delete
messages before they are sent to your computer. It takes about two
minutes to download and install and is free (unless you want to
send the developer $3 or more as a tip (his word).
Here's how to get MailWasher
http://www.mailwasher.net
Go to the MailWasher address and read all the goodies on the first
page. Become dutifully impressed. Control your new case of "The
Hardly Waits" until you can get it downloaded and installed.
At the top of the page, click "Free Download" on the
left hand side of the page (second button)
Download the Beta version, its newer
Follow your normal routine for downloading and installing programs
(Most computers have a folder "My Downloads", save it
there).
To install the program go to your eMail program and look up; your
POP3 Mail Server address for incoming mail your SMTP Mail Server
address for outgoing mail
That information is stored in the "preferences" or "options"
sections of your eMail program (In Outlook Express it is under Tools/Accounts)
You will also need your log-on name and your pasword.
When the program opens automatically looks at the eMail waiting
to be delivered to you. Bounce what you want (you can also mark
some messages to be deleted) then click on "Process Mail"
and let the bouncing begin. When MailWasher has logged off, click
on "Mail Program" to bring up your eMail program so you
can load and read regular eMail. In no time at all your SPAM load
will be much less.
Freebee #2 HOUSECALL
HouseCall is Trend Micro's FREE on-line virus scanner. This site
will scan your computer for viruses directly from the web. Many
times a virus can infect your computer through eMail, especially
if you open an attachment from someone you dont know. Even
if yoou have a virus checker installed and working in your computer,
I urge you to use Housecall every day.
Here's how to use Housecall
http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall
The first time you use it it will ask for permission to load and
store load a small file on your computer. Entirely OK, then each
time you use it, it will update that file with the latest checking
informaton.
Most hard drives are drive C: Select that drive and click on Scan.
It is a good idea to do this as you go to lunch each day as the
time it takes is dependent on your connection speed. When HouseCall
finishes, it will tell you how many files were found with viruses,
and of those the ones that can be cleaned and sill used and the
ones that should be deleted. Do not hisitate when asked to delete.
A virus is a bad thing.
HouseCall does not provide virus protection. It provides virus
DETECTION, and only while you are connected to HouseCall. So your
computer is still vulnerable to virus attacks in between online
virus scans, you need protection all day long, every time you download
a file from the Internet or copy a file from a floppy disk
Trend Micro will offer to sell you their popular program PC-Cillin
(which is a very good one) or you can use one of the others. Some
savy computer people use Norton or McAfee automatically in their
machine and scan with HouseCall daily at lunch. Like getting a second
opinion at the doctors.
Freebee #3 AVG Anti-Virus
Here's an excellent, freeware anti-virus utility that also offers
you free monthly updates. An easy-to-use program, AVG features resident
protection, an eMail scanner and automatic healing of infected files.
AVG 6.0 Free Edition
http://www.grisoft.com
Download, install and use AVG 6.0 Anti-Virus system to reliably
protect your computer and data free of charge. Go to Free Download
Page to get more information.
They sell a commercial version, but offer a free version for all
single home and office end users!
Free Updates! AVG continuously adds new viruses into the virus
database,as well as new functions and features. All these improvements
can be downloaded by clicking on Updates. To download Update files,
go to Free Updates Page
Note: the programs we list here will either clean and/or scan your
computer for viruses. Be sure you check with the provider of the
anti-virus program that you download for periodic updates, as new
viruses are appearing all the time on the Web
Freebee #4 AntiVir Virus Checker
This easy-to-use freeware antivirus utility detects over 40,000
viruses and includes a resident monitor and desktop program. Scans
for DOS, Windows, macros and Java viruses. For Windows (ME &
98 & 95) and XP (XP & 2000 & NT)
Go to this website and follow the directions http://www.free-av.com/
Freebee #5 Eudora
As Microsoft gets bigger and bigger, most of the eMail today is
sent and read by two programs created by Microsoft and delivered
as a part of Windows. Outlook and Outlook Express.
Because of their wide-spread use, the virus bugs (pun intended)
target them almost exclusively. A bit of email insuirance is to
use an eMail program OTHER than Outlook or Outlook Express.
Eudora® is a great eMail program for people who get lots of
eMail and for those who get only a few messages a day. Best of all,
it is rarely targeted for virus attacks. Most virus developers go
after the Outlook Address book and send bogus mails to thousands.
Eudora is easy to use and has many features not found in either
of the Outlooks.
Best of all, a full-featured version is free for the downloading.
So, take control of your email before it takes control of you. Eudora
6.0 is more than a way to send and receive messages - it's a powerful
eMail management tool with features to increase your productivity
and enhance your communications.
Everything you need to know about how to download it, set it up
and use it is at the Eudora Website.
http://www.eudora.com/
Additional reading: Get my article -10 Ways to Fight Spam- by sending
a blank eMail to MailTo:[email protected]
©2004 BIG Mike McDaniel, Professional Speaker and Former
Major Market TV News Anchor. The BIG Ideas Group helps small business
grow with mastermind
groups, seminars and sales training. MailTo:[email protected]
http://BIGIdeasGroup.com
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